Fla. legislative chiefs award hefty staff raises

Florida's new legislative leaders handed out hefty pay raises to many of their top staff and newly hired talent, even as thousands of state workers went for a sixth year without a boost in pay.

Senate President Don Gaetz and House Speaker Will Weatherford, who were sworn in last month, immediately hired new chiefs of staff and paid them more than taxpayers pay elected state Cabinet members. They are paying 62 top policy advisers and staff directors more than $100,000 a year each, and they gave pay raises totaling $252,000 to their 17 highest paid employees.

Sen. Don Gaetz, R-Niceville, speaks after being officially designated as the next Florida Senate president in this Sept. 19, 2011, file photo. [CREDIT: Phil Sears, for AP]

Giving out the most in raises was Gaetz, R-Niceville, who promoted 10 people already making more than $100,000 a year in state jobs. The biggest promotion went to his top aide, Chris Clark, whose salary jumped from $77,000 as an aide in Gaetz's legislative office to $150,000 as the Senate president's chief of staff. Clark started in the Legislature in 1994, making $12,771 a year. Gaetz said his salary is commensurate with those who have held the job before.

Weatherford, R-Wesley Chapel, gave more modest pay increases to his highest-earning staff. Seven employees, who earned more than $100,000, got raises totaling $52,000.

The salaries were "based on a number of factors including increased workload, matching offers made by other organizations, merit, recommendations from supervisors and years of service," said Ryan Duffy, Weatherford's spokesman. (Duffy earns $95,000, a $20,000 increase over what he was making last year as spokesman for the House Republican office.)

State workers, by contrast, have not had a pay raise in six years. Last year, the Legislature also tapped into their take-home pay by trimming three percent to pay their annual contributions to the Florida Retirement System. The result is a 15 percent drop in earning power for most state workers, labor unions say.

Unions have challenged the pension law, sponsored by Gaetz and supported by Weatherford, and are awaiting a ruling by the Florida Supreme Court.

"The mantra of legislative leadership is, 'Do as we say, not as we do,'?" Florida AFL-CIO spokesman Rich Templin said. "They want to slash funding for teachers and go after state worker pensions, but they also see the taxpayer as funding their own little fiefdoms."

Not everyone received a pay raise. Some House and Senate staffers' salaries remained the same, despite years on the job or increased education and training. Salaries for many returning staff in the House and Senate Democratic offices remained unchanged.

The legislative leaders also brought in new talent and paid them top dollar.

Weatherford hired Kathy Mears, a Tallahassee political consultant, as chief of staff for $145,000. She had previously worked as a deputy chief of staff to former Gov. Charlie Crist and was the communications director for former House and Senate leaders.

Gaetz recruited former state revenue chief Lisa Vickers to be one of his senior executive assistants. She now earns $135,000, a $15,000 annual boost in pay from the $120,000 she made as an agency head.

The Senate president's chief spokeswoman, Katie Betta, was hired as Gaetz's deputy chief of staff for communications. He gave her a $20,000 salary increase over the $107,000 she was making doing the communications job for former House Speaker Dean Cannon.

Jim Rimes, a former director of the Republican Party of Florida, was hired to be the director of the Senate Majority Office at $120,000. He last worked as a lobbyist representing the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AT&T and Home Depot.

Together, the top members of the executive staffs of the two presiding officers earn $7.2 million a year ? with $3.5 million spent by the House and $3.8 million spent by the Senate, according to a Times/Herald analysis.

The total cost to taxpayers of all legislative salaries, including district staff and the annual salary paid to each legislator is $27.8 million for 1,645 employees in the House, and $21.8 million and 1,644 employees in the Senate. Legislators earn $29,697 per year; Weatherford and Gaetz earn $41,181.

Not every union official objects to the staff pay raises. Doug Martin, spokesman for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, believes "the Legislature needs the best it can get because a poorly written law costs billions, not millions."

He said Florida already has the smallest and least expensive government per capita "and one of the primary reasons for that efficiency is to have excellent long-term employees."

Martin added that many of the people he represents were willing to forgo raises to avoid layoffs during the economic crisis. "Now that the economy is improving," he said, "they deserve a raise, too."

TOP PAID STAFF

Leg. body

Staff member

Position

Salary

Change

Senate

Chris Clark

chief of staff

$150,000

+ $74,000

Senate

John Guthrie

reapportionment comm. director

$140,808

$0

Senate

Carol Gormley

health care policy adviser

$140,004

+ $12,000

Senate

Mike Hansen

budget director

$140,004

(new hire)

Senate

John Phelpsdirector

rules committee

$139,152

$0

House

Kathy Mears

chief of staff

$145,008

(new hire)

House

Joanne Leznoff

budget director

$137,004

$0

House

Bob Ward

secretary of the House

$135,360

$0

House

Scott McPherson

information technology director

$129,864

$0

House

Karen Camechis

state affairs comm. director

$125,040

+ $8,000

Last modified: December 12, 2012
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